Jump-Start Holiday Shopping

OK. I did it.

I got up at 5am so I could go to the early morning, “After Thanksgiving Day” sales yesterday. I went through the sale ads while the turkey was cooking and made a list, by store, of items that would be good gifts for our list. I debated if it would be worth the crowds and the time, but I’ve barely started my Christmas shopping, so now is as good a time as any to get a bunch of it done, especially at the great sale prices.

I even enlisted the help of my husband, Dave. There were several stores on our list that opened at the same time and there was no way I’d be able to get the deals. So my husband went to the electronics stores for me.

The number #1 stores on our lists were almost ½ an hour away, so we had to get a good head start and leave soon enough. My husband headed for his first store, Best Buys, and my 14 year-old daughter, Courtney, and I headed for Target with our hot chocolate travel mugs to warm us up on the cold, dark morning.

When we got to Target there was a line outside that had just begun to file in. We parked and got in with the tale end of the line. It was crowded, so you couldn’t easily get a cart through, so I had my daughter man the cart nearby as I went to the crowded area to get the items we were looking for.

I was able to get a little more than half of the items on my list. But some of the main presents that I wanted, a GameBoy Advanced with the Spiderman game for my son, and a Karaoke machine for my daughter were both gone. Oh well. I was debating about the Game Boy anyway, worried that it is very expensive, (especially any extra game we would buy n the future) and will my son be responsible enough yet not to lose it.

My husband and I kept in touch with our cell phones. He informed me he was only able to get 1 of the three items on his list and he wasn’t going to stand in the huge line for the 1 item, a DVD player. I was able to get one a Target for just a few dollars more.

I got a call from my husband while he was at his second store on his list, which happened to open the next hour anyway, informing me that they were handing out vouchers to the first people in line who wanted certain items. The item he wanted, a $99 camcorder, was already gone, in vouchers at least, to the first people in line. In ways this system is good, because the first people in line are rewarded for being there first, but it’s definitely not worth it to me to stand in line in the middle of the night to get first dibs.

Oh, Dave also informed me he was never going to do this again.
He said, “The older I get, the fewer things there are that I’m willing to stand in line for.”

My daughter and I headed to a couple more stores, which were not crowded at all by this time, about 7:30 in the morning. I was able to get a few more items that were on the 1 day sales which they still had plenty of items in stock.

So, in general, I still think it is worth me getting up early and going to these sales. Yes it is early, and it is crowded, but I can get quite a bit of shopping done in a short amount of time at huge savings.

I’ve got to get all this shopping done sometime. I might as well get a jump-start on it.